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Description: Fine dining restaurant Meridiano - the choice of connoisseurs (17 Gault-Millau points, 1 Michelin star).
High above the rooftops of Bern, gourmet guests are offered superior culinary quality, the purest taste sensations and views of the distant Alps. They enjoy relaxation in an easy-going ambience, enhanced by the warmest of welcomes from Restaurant Manager Giovanni Ferraris.
Authentic cuisine influenced by both the Mediterranean and the Alps, that's the captivating culinary style of South Tirolean Chef de Cuisine Fabian Raffeiner.

I have eaten here a number of times while on courses in Bern, and each time the experience has been wonderful. From the initial wonder of drinks on the balcony with panoramic views over the city, to enjoying the amazing cuisine with such consistent quality I feel this restaurant deserves the number one rating in Bern. The staff could not be more helpful, and their understanding and explanations of what they are serving is totally informative. I look forward to coming back again.

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Ask crawfie about Meridiano

1 Thank crawfie

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

bernallegro, Manager at Meridiano, responded to this reviewResponded May 7, 2014

Dear Meridiano Guest,thank you very much for taking the time to evaluate us on Tripadvisor. It’s a great pleasure for us to read your comment. We are glad that you have enjoyed your visit at the Restaurant Meridiano.We would be very happy to see you any time soon.Your Meridiano-Team

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

This is one of my favorite restaurants and not only in Switzerland!I love it! You have an amazing view to the Bern city. Great romantic atmosphere, spectacular gourmet food with the fantastic presentation and extensive wine list.If you are looking for a quality, fine-dining experience, make a stop here in Bern and you will be absolutely surprised! And don't forget to make a reservation in advance!

Ask Parides7 about Meridiano

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bernallegro, Manager at Meridiano, responded to this reviewResponded March 27, 2014

Dear Meridiano-Guest,

thank you very much indeed for such a positive comment on Trip Advisor. We are very happy to hear that you had a great time dining at our Restaurant. We look forward to welcome you again soon at the Restaurant Meridiano.

Yours sincerelyYour Meridiano-Team

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We have eaten here quite a few times, but not recently, so we were eager to return. While the meal was very good and the atmosphere and view as excellent as always, we must confess to a degree of disappointment. There is no longer an a la carte menu (an option I always like to have), just three set menus of four, six or eight courses. We chose the six course (without the cheese course -- the cheese trolley did look well stocked and kept, though), and the waiter cheerfully allowed us to swap out one course (we took scallops instead of lobster -- a mistake perhaps, about which more later). We ordered aperitifs, but my champagne was flat, and the soft drink my wife ordered with ice, no lemon, arrived with lemon, no ice. Both errors were quickly and cheerfully corrected when pointed out, but those are the minor errors that set a tone and make the difference between good and great. I ordered the "Weinreise" (wine pairings) to go with each course and agreed to the ground rules that I not be told what I was drinking until after each course. This was interesting and the pairings with one exception were very good, but when I commented that all the wines including the whites were served at room temperature, I was told that this was the way they did things (though they did offer to serve mine in a chilled glass if I preferred -- I declined). The young lady presenting the wines was cheerful, enthusiastic, and informative, though I have no way of telling whether she knew much beyond the specific wines in the pairings. The amuse bouche was undistinguished, consisting of two tiny tidbits, one made of curry, the other of falafel, which was quite tasty, plus a shotglass of green foam, apparently a sort of soup (leeK? I did not catch the server's description in German). The first course was a small scoop of beef tartar topped with caviar, garnished with beets and tiny cubes of (tuna?). The presentation, like all the courses that followed, was precise, colorful, and a bit minimalist; think of Mondrian. The garnishes were perfectly cooked and seasoned, the beef and caviar worked surprisingly well as a combination; still the overall effect was underwhelming. The next course, the scallop (there was only one, with a crumble on top). Sadly, the scallop was overcooked and dry, making us wish we had stuck to the original menu instead of substituting. The next course was gnocchi, again beautifully garnished, with artichokes among other things but ultimately unmemorable. Next came the most intriguing item. fish (Steinbutt; turbot, I think, in English) topped with sauteed fresh foie gras, served over minted peas. The presentation was again lovely if somewhat stiff, the turbot was fresh and perfectly done. as was the foie gras. Ultimately, however, the combination (which I have seen successfully pulled off before -- Scholteshof, in Belgium, used to have a famous dish of seared tuna surrounded by a ribbon of foie gras) did not work; both proteins were good, but not in combination. Both of these dishes, the turbot/liver and the gnocchi with artichokes, presented insurmountable problems for the wine pairings. The main course of venison was by far the best of the evening, tender perfectly cooked loin, with a lovely reduction sauce, beautifully presented with a raviolo filled with bloodsausage. This was the best wine pairing as well, matched with a Ribiera del Duero, There was then a surprise, and surprisingly good, "pre-dessert" based on carrots, a pineapple-centered dessert, and very nice mignardise - a macaroon, a white chocolate truffle, a dark chocolate and earl grey praline, and a sort of citrus sorbet coated in white chocolate served on a stick. I should note that the view remains spectacular, even at night in the rain, and that the location inside the hotel/casino makes it quite difficult to find and get to -- a different path each time. However, the (head?-) waiter graciously accompanied us back down to the lobby, discovering for the first time that we were native English speakers (we had spoken mostly German with the servers), and eagerly practiced his quite good, Scottish-accented English on us - a very nice touch. A more equivocal role was played by the pianist who accompanied dinner: he was clearly accomplished, and his somewhat honkey-tonk versions of jazz standards and the like would have been quite enjoyable in another setting, but were both too loud (we were the closest to the piano) and not quite dinner music for a formal restaurant. In all, if we had not been there before under previous management, perhaps we would have had different expectations. At CHF500 for two (with only one drinking wine), expectations are naturally high, and while the meal and the experience were good, there is room for improvement.

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Ask shutterlab about Meridiano

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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

bernallegro, Manager at Meridiano, responded to this reviewResponded March 3, 2014

Dear Meridiano-guest,

Thank you very much for spending time in reviewing your recent dining experience at our Meridiano Restaurant. We appreciate your feedback and insights and are very happy to see you returning to the Kursaal Bern.We are sorry to learn that you did not find the food to your liking, whereas we traditionally get a lot of praise for it, in terms of variety and quality. Our service team is trained on explaining the menu but purposely not in detail, so that the moment of surprise is guaranteed for our valued guests. Customer Service is by far our number one priority. That is why we had asked for your language preferences, not to arise any misunderstandings. And we must let you know: the whole team enjoyed your extensive German skills.Our a la carte menu is offered with pleasure whenever asked for by our guests.Your feedback is valuable for us to continually improve our service and our kitchen team has been alerted for their review and relevant follow up.Please do feel free to contact us directly for your next dining experience at Meridiano Restaurant in order for us to prepare dishes and creations that better suit your taste.

Yours sincerely,Ralf Böttinger and team

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Our dinner with friends at the Restaurant Meridiano in Bern was again sensational. The new chef Jan Leimbach and the manager and sommelier Christian Grimm do a great job preparing an unforgettable experience.

We had a 6 course dinner menu. Every dish was sensational in its own. The flavours were natural but excellent. All ingredients mixed very well together. My favourite was the turbot with foie gras on top. With every course we had a glass of wine that perfectly matched the food. The wines we tasted were al from small and mostly unknown producers but all held up perfectly well. A great experience.

This truly is a very innovative cuisine and a highly motivated team. I am looking forward to be back soon.

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Ask TightLoops about Meridiano

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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

bernallegro, Manager at Meridiano, responded to this reviewResponded December 31, 2013

Dear TightLoop,

thank you very much for your positv comment on Trip Advisor. We are very happy to hear that you enjoyed yourself at our Restaurant.We look forward to welcome you again soon and surprise you with our new creations.

Yours sincerelyThe Meridiano-Team

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This is a gourmet delight. Every dish is prepared like a work of art and extremely tasty. Great wine list. The staff is super professional and very, very nice. Several times the chef also came to make sure all was ok. Just a warning: it is very, very expensive and portions are small.

Ask LiaC177 about Meridiano

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bernallegro, Manager at Meridiano, responded to this reviewResponded October 12, 2013

Dear Meridiano Guest,

Thank you very much for your nice Comment on Trip Advisor. We are happy that you enjoyed your Dinner at the Meridiano and it was a pleasure for us to serve you.

We look forward to welcome you soon back.

Best wishes Merdiano Team

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.